Design Thinking

Take the time to step out of the classroom to experience being the learner

Iwas excited when I found out I was the recipient of the Edna Joyce Howe Scholarship for 2022 where I could step out of teaching for a short while and delve deep into design thinking.

Since then, I have been observing students from across Wintec centres who are studying a module at Design Factory as an elective within their undergraduate qualifications. I questioned them about what they loved to learn at high school and about any memorable experiences they encountered. Their answers included items like, “It was a project. It has a mentor. It has community involvement.

When you make and do things.” Rigour and the learning involving real-world, authentic experiences was something I took away from our conversations as being positive experiences. As an educator and facilitator, the way we set up ‘learning’ enables students every opportunity to make a difference in our world!

Design Factory New Zealand, based at Wintec Te Pūkenga, is a co-creation space where students and industry partners work together to solve complex problems. I have been lucky enough to spend the last ten weeks participating in and observing students learn and apply a diverse range of problem-solving skills, with a committed focus on their groups’ industry partner’s problem. Seeking to deeply engage with the problem, students empathise with industry and stakeholders to gain their perspective on the issue, create a range of possible solutions and then test prototypes for best-fit solutions. As a result, I have observed a deep and wide understanding of complex problems, observed passionate coaches and facilitators who offer their expertise and guidance alongside students to be able to achieve their goals.

There are so many versions of the design process that can guide teaching and learning, but until you step into the process yourself as a learner you will never know how to deliver it in a way that students NEED.

Rototuna Junior High Schools’ learning process allows students to take a series of steps in the learning journey across all learning modules from years 7-10 in a modern learning environment. Implementing this design process when planning for teaching and learning especially in Technology Education at school is an effective way to interconnect all three strands of the curriculum. In 2015,

RJHS created a visual for students as a representation of an iterative learning process. I can clearly see a defined correlation between DFNZ design process and the Junior High’s Learning process, which allows taking a step backwards to learn, reframe and rethink. The biggest take-away from my time at the Design Factory is the art of problem solving: Running through all activities and the tools that are used at each stage of the process, which I will adopt and bring back to my teaching practice. The time has allowed me to suspend my assumptions, truly collaborate on ideas and live inside the world of another, all while solving messy problems which have no clear solutions but have a real impact on people and society.

The Design Factory uses a five-step model of Design Thinking. The heart of their approach is co-creation and that the best designs are human-centred. The five-step design thinking model as proposed by the Hasso-Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford includes empathy, define, ideate, prototype and test.

1. Empathy

Before designing a solution, students needed to create a deep understanding of how the problem currently impacts peoples’ lives. Empathy required students to suspend their own assumptions and live inside the world of another by using ethnographic research methods. Industry partners such as Ag Research approached students with a challenge, such as: “How might we re-imagine food systems in the Waikato to promote circular use of resources?” These are wicked problems that are not easily solved and currently have no solution.

2. Define

At this stage students analysed data sources from primary and secondary research. Through empathy interviews, they make sense by weighing up their findings. Students used tools like Affinity maps to cluster what things have affinity with each other and then turn them into sentences to create an insight. These tools enabled students to develop, “How might we…?” questions, which defined the voices of the users and stakeholders, getting closer to the heart of the problem and determining next steps.

3. Ideate

Students created a range of ideas of possible solutions for solving those, “How might we?” questions. Before delving into solutions that we can all too quickly jump to, students generate as many ideas as they could using various methods and approaches to heighten creativity. Ideas were then charted against a matrix for feasibility, viability and usability. Then, the most promising ideas were selected via a democracy process with students and stakeholders identifying a best fit.

5. Test

Students went back to their industry partner and put their prototypes in the hands of real users, observing them using the prototypes, asking questions about concepts, and offering thoughts on future refinements. As prototypes were tested, students assessed how well their solutions met the initial Creativity Brief. Students then determined changes that were needed to be made, in order to get ready for the DFNZ Gala. At this event, students present their research and concept in a public forum to an audience of industry partners, alumni and members of the community of interest.

Students were encouraged to return to each stage as they discover new solutions and rapidly test these with a range of stakeholders, all working towards the final output of a Proof-of-Concept Solution.

4. Prototype

Prototypes were created and students modelled these in different forms, ranging from wireframe apps, websites, interactive events and storyboards to 3-dimensional cardboard figures ready for testing with stakeholders and users. Each was given feedback on the possible solution(s).

Irma Cooke, a former Chef, now teacher and specialist curriculum leader of Technology, has a passion for teaching Food Technology at Rototuna Junior High School.

She may be contacted at irmacooke@rhs.school.nz